Prime Minister Masrour Barzani: We are on the path to digital transformation

Erbil, Kurdistan Region (GOV.KRD) – Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today visited the HITEX tech exhibition in Erbil and delivered the following speech:

Ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a pleasure to be with you today among representatives from various sectors, including technology and banking. I hope this event will serve as an opportunity to further advance technology in our region and strengthen our connections to the global tech market.

Digitalizing government operations and public services has been a big part of our efforts to improve service quality, reduce bureaucracy, and eliminate waste of public resources. The Department of Information Technology within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is one of our cabinet’s most active and innovative entities. They have been working diligently to establish a strong digital infrastructure, and recently, they announced a digital transformation strategy for the Kurdistan Region. This strategy is part of our plan to build a forward-looking digital government that will enhance and accelerate our economic development, making our citizens the focal point through technology.

One of the key topics of this conference is governance and the management of the financial and banking technology sectors. It is necessary for me to highlight our government’s initiatives in banking reforms.

Having a strong, trusted, and progressive banking system is crucial, and in this regard, we have started reforms within the banking sector to lay the groundwork for a resilient and advanced digital economy in parallel to modern-day advancements.

I can now say with confidence that we are on the right path to a digital and technological transformation, and financial and banking reform. This progress has attracted more investors and entrepreneurs, both regionally and globally, to explore investment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region.

I want to thank you – the partners here – for your collaboration and support in the “MyAccount” project, which is an example of restoring trust in the banking sector. As we promised from the start, our plan is to move one million public sector employees in the banking system within a year, which is a significant achievement considering the challenges involved. Initially, there was skepticism about whether this goal could be achieved within the given timeframe; I was told that it couldn’t be done, but fortunately, we are now closer to realizing our target.

Our banking system is stronger and more efficient than ever. Thousands of civil servants no longer queue for wait hours to receive their salaries. Sending and receiving international transfers has become easier and can now be done via mobile phones. Additionally, 200 ATMs have been installed across the region, with the number set to increase to 1,000 ATMs.

To date, we have brought more than half a million of Kurdistan’s public sector employees into the banking system. Retail banking services in the Kurdistan Region have grown fivefold over the past 10 months. This month, over 120,000 employees will receive their salaries digitally. This number will increase to over 200,000 next month, depositing nearly $200 million into bank accounts, which banks can now handle in a day, compared to the weeks it previously took the KRG with thousands of accountants necessary to process payroll.

Increased liquidity provides more confidence to private and commercial banks, enabling them to offer loans to individuals and businesses.
While banking and financial services are a cornerstone of our reform process, we have not stopped there. Citizens are now increasingly interacting with their government digitally, which increases speed and efficiency for everyone. We have built a data center in line with international standards. It is also easier and faster to register companies and businesses now.

In the coming year, we will introduce several initiatives that will further transform how citizens and businesses interact with the government. For example, over one million digital identities have been issued under this cabinet. In the coming year, citizens will be able to access numerous public services through these digital identities. This number will increase significantly next year.

The Kurdistan Region is taking significant steps towards digitizing government operations. By implementing our digital transformation strategy, we are creating a substantial qualitative change in how public services are delivered to our citizens quickly and efficiently.

Today, technology and artificial intelligence revolution has significantly shifted our lives across all sectors, whether in communication, education, health, or business. Certainly, this wave of change and progress is ongoing and rapid. We must work to benefit from it and prepare ourselves for the challenges it may bring because, while technology has made our lives easier and more enjoyable, we must use it responsibly and for the benefit of humanity.

Upon visiting this exhibition today, I genuinely felt proud to see our youth excelling in technology. Many of them have established their companies and created innovative products. During my exchanges with some of them that the digital services, I was pleased to hear that their products have found use cases not only in the Kurdistan Region, but in the region. This will open new opportunities for connecting Kurdistan to the world.

Once again, I thank the organizers of this exhibition and all the companies participating.

Welcome once again. I wish you all success and good health, and may Kurdistan continue to prosper.

Thank you